Counting-machine.



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D. F. MERRIMAN & C. W. HARRIS.

COUNTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION men JUNE 12. I916.

Patented June 19, 1917.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DAVID F. MERRIMAN AND CHARLES 11V. HARRIS, OF WATERLOO, IOWA.

COUNTING-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters iatent.

Patented J line 19, 1917.

Application filed June 12, 1916. Serial No. 103,293.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, DAVID F. MERRI- MAN andCnAnLns 1 V. I'IARRIS, citizens of the United States of America, andresidents of aterloo, Blackhawk county, Iowa, have invented certain newand useful Improvements in Counting-Machines, of which the following isa specification.

Our invention relates to improvements in counting machines, and theobject of our improvement is to supply means for automatically countingsheets of paper or the like, when delivered to it by any appropriatemeans of carriage.

This object we have accomplished by the means which are hereinafterdescribed and claimed, and which are illustrated in: the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

Figure 1 is an elevation of our improved counting device as'mountedcooperatively on a sheet-carrying apparatus; Figs. 2, 3 and 1 are likeend elevations of our machine, showing the operative parts thereof inthree different positions.

Similar numerals of reference denote corresponding parts throughout theseveral views.

Our counting mechanism is in Fig. 1, shown as mounted on the rear ordeliveryend of a ruling-machine such as is commonly used inbook-binderies, and is adapted to automatically receive and count orregister a number of sheets of paper as fast as received from thecarrier of said machine. It is obvious, however, that our countingdevice could be used in cooperation with any other kind ofdelivery-means for carrying such sheets to it.

The counting-device is supported on a standard 21 fixed on a frame-bar22 of the rulingmachine. The standard has a fixed cross-bar 25, on oneend of which is mounted a registering device 13 of a well-known typeactuated by the rocking of a lever 14 eX- tending through a verticalslot in its casing. On the outer end of the lever 14 is fixed a thin arm15 of spring metal free to yield laterally.

In bearing-openings in the right-hand end of the cross-bar 25 and in theupper end of the standard 21 is mounted a rock-shaft 7, on, one end ofwhich is fixed. a pendulous rod 6 whose lower part is curved to theright. On the other end of said rock-shaft are fixed two depending arms8 and 9, the forwardly curved arm carrying a block 10 whose rear face isformed convex, with its oppositefac'e flat. hen the rod or trigger 6 isin itsinoperativc vertical position, the block 10 is a little above andparallel to the upper edge of the outer end of the springarm 15. Theother arm 9 is a little to the rear of the arm 8, and inclined somewhatto the left behind the spring arm 15, as shown in full lines in saidFig. 1.

A curved depending plate 12 is fixed on the lower end of a hanger 11fixedly depending from the right-hand end of the cross-bar 25, the upperend of said plate being lo cated somewhat forwardly and below the outerend of the spring arm 15. A short rotatable shaft 20 is mounted in theupper ends of a supporting body 21, and has thereon a circumferentiallygrooved wheel 18, and on its forward end a crank supplied with adiskshaped crank-pin 16 provided with a circumferential groove 23. Thisgroove is beveled inwardly so as to leave a sharp forward annular edge.The wheel 18 is rotated by means of any suitable source of power, suchas a driving cable 19, to continuously rotate the crank 17 Referring toFig. 1, the numerals 2 and 4 denote wheels arranged one above the otherand carrying respectively the-carrying-belts 3 and 5, the belts beingspaced apart enough to permit of the transportation of a sheet of paperor other material. 1 between them.

Operation.

are shown the positions of the parts when the trigger 6 has been swungoutwardly. This rocks the shaft 7 and also the arms 8 and' 9 in the samedirection. The function of while descending, to engage the forward faceof said spring arm, the convex rear part of the block pushing theresilient end of the arm back into the path of movement of the crank-pin16. The upper edge of the spring arm is then received in the groove 23of the crank-pin, which latter then swings down the arm to the positionindicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 1, thus actuating the register 13.i

As shown in Fig. 1, the end of the springarm 15 slides down along and incontact with the concave face of the curved plate 12 and passes thelower end of the latter and then being released, springs forward of saidplate and returns upwardly to its first position as Shown in Fig. 2. Ihesheet 1 having passed out from under the trigger 6, gravity causes thetrigger to swing back to its first position, thus rocking the abutmentarm 9 back of the spring-plate 15, ready for another actuation whenanother sheet 1 is delivered from between said belts. A pawl 24 fixed onthe rock-shaft 7, by engaging the upper bracketed part of the standard21, prevents the trigger 6 from swinging too far in the reversedirection.

It will thus be seen that the device cannot be actuated until thetrigger 6 has been swung out by the sheet 1 impinging thereon. Variouschanges may be made in the dimensions, form and relations of the partsof said device, without departing from the principles of our inventionand the scope of its protection.

Having described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In a counting machine having a registering device, a triggersupported movably to be swung in one direction by the impact thereon ofan object to be counted, and to return to its initial position bygravity, said registering device having a resilient actuating arm, acontinuously rotatable crank located out of the path of movement of saidregister-arm, a deflecting plate and movable elements connected to saidtrigger and set thereby when moved by said impinging object to move saidregister-arm against and about said deflecting plate and into the pathof movement of said crank to cause the latter to actuate the register byshifting said arm, releasably.

2. In a counting machine having a registering device, a trigger mountedto be moved by impact thereon of an object to be counted, saidregistering device having an operating arm formed of a plate spring, arotatable crank adjacent to and rotatable in a plane parallel to saidspring-arm, and means connected to said trigger adapted to move thespring-arm into the path of rotation of said crank, releasably, when thetrigger is moved in one direction by an impact and then returned bygravity.

3. A counting machine, comprising a registering device, a spring-armadapted to swing to actuate said device and yieldable laterally, a crankrotatable in a plane parallel. to said spring-arm to one side thereof,and means for pushing the spring-arm lat erally into the path ofmovement of said. crank to permit the latter to push it down to actuatethe registering device, consisting of a trigger suspended to swing in avertical plane, a rock-shaft on which said trigger is mounted having twolaterally-spaced arms on one end adjacent to the outer end of saidspring-arm, the outermost arm having a shifting-block on its lower endwith convex rear face, said. block adapted to swing downwardly beforesaid springarm and push the latter back into the path of rotation ofsaid crank when said shaft is rocked in one direction by the swinging ofsaid trigger, the second arm 011 said shaft located behind saidspring-ar1n and acting as an abutment therefor when the trigger is notoperated and swinging to release the spring-arm when the shifting-blockswings to push back the spring-arm, and a fixed rearwardly curved hangerbelow said spring-arm with its upper end in advance of the spring-armand its lower end in the rear thereof, adapted to serve as an abutmentwhen the spring-arm is rocked downwardly by contact with said crank tohold it in engagement with the crank until released therefrom when thespring-arm has passed below the lower end of the abutment to move backto its initial position.

4. In a device of the character described, a depending swinging finger,a register having a movable actuating arm, a fixed concavo-convex plate.a rotating crank having a crank-pin, and means operatively connected tosaid finger for moving the said. actuating arm into the path of saidcrankpin along the concave face of said plate, to return along theconvex face of the plate to its first position out of the path of thecrank-pin.

Signed at Waterloo, Iowa, this 24l'th day of Way, 1916.

DAVID F. MERRIMAN. CHARLES IV. HARRIS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0.

